Burnt Tomatoes for Desayuno
This is a story about a man called J that taught me how to make a particular kind of salsa.
Category: Reflections
Occasionally my memories are strongly attached to food
Eating to feel emotion – 3 months after the water fast
Eating to feel emotion is like filling a bucket with a hole it. A few minutes ago I was telling a friend that they to eat less and generally change their relationship with food for health reasons. As I were doing it, I realized that I was saying everything I tell myself. Why do I not put […]
Remaining Focused – Chasing 2 Rabbits
About a year ago, I heard this quote for the first time. The man saying it was quitting a job he had worked in for many years and explained that it was because he had a dream he was pursuing part time. He wanted to put all his energy into that dream because he felt ready […]
Reality Check – The end of an era
A year ago almost to the date, I could feel that this day was coming. For some reason I was certain of it. It was at that moment I dropped everything I was doing in Lagos at the time and decided to embark on a professional cooking journey. At that time I knew that if […]
Pour for a single chef – Memories of Chicago
Thus far it has been a ritual of mine to post a picture album at the end of each trip that I take, but this time I am trying something different. For the first time I am going to include some pictures, write about it and possibly include a video. Coming to Chicago for me was an […]
Learning to pay attention
I have been writing this note for almost 2 months now and I’ve struggled because it’s quite emotionally charged for me. But now that Alinea 1.0 is closing, I feel it is necessary to close this chapter and get ready for the next one. Since I transitioned from the morning crew to service, I’ve been […]
Coconut balls and kaffir lime leaves
This week was intense. It was easier physically but just as draining all round. For me the problem is the intense focus. If you slack off and work slowly, you will have to run later to finish up your work. If I had to summarize my week into 2 lessons, one would be always ask […]
Fresno curls
The major lesson I learned this week happened while I was making Fresno curls. They are pepper skins that are made to curl with iced water. Over the last week I was showed how to do it many times but for some reason mine just never curled. Because of this, a trivial 10 minute task […]
Are you ready to run?
Chef Dan: What’s your deal are you staying? Me: Uhh…… yeah? Chef Dan: You see how crazy it is hunh? Next week you better come running. Me: Yes chef see you on Wednesday. My first week at 1723 is over. The conversation I had with most of the cooks in the kitchen went similar to […]
1723 N Halsted
My 2 day stage is over, but I’m going in for a 3rd day tomorrow… well today. The last 2 days have been the hardest of my life both physically and mentally. I can say with all certainty that I was unaware of the fact that food could be produced at this level. It’s no longer […]